American Chess Magazine & Chess Informant
Chess Informant
Preserving the best chess of every era, since 1966. Not another database of games — the record of what mattered, distributed by American Chess Magazine.
Since 1966
The chess that mattered. Preserved.
There are millions of chess games online. Nobody needs another database. What Chess Informant has done for decades is different: editorial curation, deciding what deserves to survive. Chess Informant was considered the chess bible by Bobby Fischer himself, who pored over each issue studying every game — as shown in the famous “Bobby the Champ” photograph, taken in Reykjavik in 1972.
What’s inside
Built on a system nobody else owns
~200 games an issue
Plus dedicated sections beyond the games themselves — every issue is a full survey of the period's best chess, not a highlight reel.
Classified by ECO code
Games are organized using the ECO (Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings) classification system — Chess Informant's own copyrighted contribution to how the chess world catalogs openings.
A language-independent notation
Analysis is annotated with Chess Informant's own system of symbols, not prose — so a reader in any country can follow the assessment without translation.
“We are all children of the Informant.”
Garry Kasparov, on Chess Informant’s influence across the chess world since 1966
Why it matters
Become a Keeper of Chess History
You don’t just follow chess. You help preserve its history — the games that mattered, from the era they were played in, kept alive for the generations who come after you.
Decades of issues, each one a curated record of the chess that mattered that year.
Subscribe
Four issues a year, over 250 pages each
Your subscription starts with the current issue, Chess Informant 168 — not a back issue. American Chess Magazine is an authorized distributor of Chess Informant. The subscription renews automatically every three months — cancel anytime, no explanation necessary.
$49.99every 3 months
Free shipping in the U.S. · +$15 for international shipping, selected in the order form
Subscribe to Chess Informant- Starts with the current issue, Chess Informant 168
- Over 250 pages an issue
- Curated by the game's top grandmasters
- Free shipping in the U.S.
- Easy cancellation, no explanation necessary
Questions about your Chess Informant order? office@acmchess.com
Praise from the chess world
“Highly recommended. There is enough material here to keep one busy for several months.”
IM John Donaldson
“Informant skips the drama and the social elements that surround the fame of being a top chess player and focuses attention on the action on the board.”
Wesley Surber
Chess Informant, in good company
